2020-2021 Dean's Report | UC Riverside School of Business

2020-2021 dean’s report

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Message from the Dean ................................ 1 Committed to Excellence .............................. 2 Faculty News and Research ......................... 5

The AACSB-accredited UCR School of Business is the premier public business research institution in Inland Southern California and provides insights and resources that impact the development of the region.

#1

#27

for Social Mobility

Top Marketing College

U.S. News & World Report, 2021, 2020

University HQ, 2021

#34

Public University U.S. News & World Report, 2021

Executive Fellows ......................................... 14 Philanthropy .................................................. 16 Center for Economic Forecasting & Development ............................................ 20 A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management .............................. 22 Global Programs .......................................... 30 Undergraduate Programs .......................... 32 Accolades ...................................................... 37

DEAN’S REPORT

A MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN Despite the many challenges since early 2020, I have experienced some very uplifting moments. A business school has people who teach, people who research, and people who study, but we all—the students, the staff, administration, faculty, and the dean—learn from each other.

Throughout the pandemic, the learning, research, and communitybuilding that has cemented our solid reputation continues and thrives: We enrolled a record number of students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, launched a new Master of Science in Business Analytics program for fall 2021, moved to the next phase of site selection for our new building, attained exceptional levels of recognition for our faculty research, and increased our alumni participation by 20%.

We also have the distinct honor of educating a diverse, talented, and inclusive student body. We are particularly pleased that more than 50% are the first in their families to attend college, and nearly 33% are underrepresented minorities.

As the largest undergraduate business program within the UC system, we recognize the great responsibility and opportunity we have in developing the next generation of business leaders who will be guiding, influencing, and shaping the region’s business and economy for years to come.

I am happy to share the articles on the following pages, which tell the stories of these dedicated individuals: the teachers, researchers, and learners of UCR Business.

Sincerely,

Yunzeng Wang, Dean UCR School of Business | A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management

Dean Yunzeng Wang Associate Dean, Faculty Jerayr “John” Haleblian Associate Dean, Graduate Programs Rami Zwick Associate Dean, Undergraduate Programs Thomas Kramer Senior Director of Development Adrian Paul Stevens Editor Kathleen Drake Assistant Dean Marketing & Communications Contributors Darin Estep Stan Lim Laurie McLaughlin Sarah Nightingale Holly Ober Designer The Brandsmith LLC Contact: Marketing & Communications businessmarketing@ucr.edu Follow Us @ucrbusiness @ucr_business @ucrbusiness UCRBusiness UCRBusiness Copyright 2021

UC Riverside School of Business

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DEAN’S REPORT | COMMITTED TO EXCELLENCE

EXPANDING OUR REACH NEW SCHOOL OF BUSINESS FACILITY TAKES SHAPE

NEW DEGREE PROGRAM: MASTER OF SCIENCE IN BUSINESS ANALYTICS

With the goal of fall 2024 occupancy, planning

Commencing in fall 2021, the degree offers a flexible program with three career tracks

for the new School of Business building complex is well under way. The school’s current home, Anderson Hall, remains, and our footprint will expand by 64,000 square feet at a cost of $55 million. The new building is to be located in an adjacent lot that will be redeveloped. The world-class facility will establish the School of Business campus and include state-of-the-art amenities, including a 3,000-square-foot lobby, 350-seat auditorium, audio visual and recording studio, computer lab, collaboration spaces, and more.

The field of business analytics is a burgeoning area of exceptional job growth, and the new Master of Science in Business Analytics answers the need for professionals in this sector—in fact, demand for talent is expected to increase by as much as 14% over the next five to 10 years.

The program offers three career tracks—finance analytics, marketing analytics, and operations analytics—and is jointly offered by the School of Business’s A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management and the Department of Statistics in the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. The program’s director is Subramanian “Bala” Balachander, the Albert O. Steffey Chair and professor of marketing.

Taught by recognized faculty in the field of analytics, the coursework focuses on acquiring a well-rounded skill set combining big-data methods, statistics, and business management principles. A capstone project also provides hands-on experience as students work with industry in the business analytics space. Importantly, the degree is STEM-designated, which allows international students to work in the United States for up to 36 months.

For more information, visit business.ucr.edu/msba.

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new building site

DEAN’S REPORT | COMMITTED TO EXCELLENCE

SIEML PROGRAM DRAWS STUDENTS FROM ACROSS THE NATION

Students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Hispanic-serving Institutions participated in the Summer Institute for Emerging Managers and Leaders hosted by UCR More than 50 students from U.S.

opportunities; and insights for

Presentations were provided by

colleges and universities attended

pursuing a graduate degree in

business and community leaders, and

the May 2021 University of California

business. Undergraduate students

SIEML’s hallmark case competition

Summer Institute for Emerging

apply and are selected for the

challenged teams to produce client-

Managers and Leaders (SIEML), an

program, and SIEML alumni are eligible

based solutions for real-world

initiative to increase diversity in

for a minimum one-year full fee and

problems.

graduate business programs within

tuition fellowship at a UC graduate

the six University of California

business school.

“In essence, these are really amazing

“One of my favorite parts of the

set on applying to top institutions

The 11-day, all-expenses-paid virtual

SIEML program is when the students

in the U.S.,” says Keith Flowers Jr.,

event hosted by UC Riverside’s

introduce themselves as ‘rising seniors’

AGSM associate director of graduate

A. Gary Anderson Graduate School

from their home universities,” says

admissions. “This program showcases

of Management (AGSM) was an

UCR School of Business Professor of

the potential of a UC graduate degree.”

immersive career-building experience

Practice Sean Jasso.

business schools.

students who already have their sights

for students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic-serving Institutions (HSIs).

“I admire the SIEML’s initiative to increase diversity in graduate business schools,” says 2021 participant and Spelman College undergraduate Taylor Moorer. “It is essential to have different races and ethnicities represented in all spaces, and this program prioritizes just that.”

Annually, one of the UC business schools hosts the institute, and this year, the online presentations, panels, and workshops provided an education in entrepreneurship; analytical, technical, and management skills; leadership strategies; networking

SIEML participants in a virtual workshop.

For full coverage of the 2021 SIEML program, visit business.ucr.edu/SIEML2021.

UC Riverside School of Business

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DEAN’S REPORT | COMMITTED TO EXCELLENCE

THE PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE STRATEGIC PLAN 2017-2022 We pursue excellence by building our environment, maximizing engagement, and motivating empowerment in all we do.

The School of Business Strategic Plan serves as a framework for the school’s continual expansion and service to students. As we venture into the final year of the current plan, and are in the process of drafting our 2022-2027 plan, we acknowledge and celebrate

ENVIRONMENT Each day we create an inviting, respectful, and inspiring environment, empowered by collaboration and inclusion.

the achievements of the last four years: • Expanded and strengthened our tenure-track faculty and support staff • Designated a site for the school’s new building while making strides in funding its construction • Established a Master of Science in Business

ENGAGEMENT

Increased engagement brings greater opportunities for all stakeholders, and in the process, improves our environment.

Analytics program • Expanded our Ph.D. degree in all of the school’s academic areas • Created a second track option in our Master of Professional Accountancy for applicants without the accounting prerequisites

EMPOWERMENT

We are committed to a culture that empowers our students, faculty, staff, and alumni to achieve excellence and better engagement.

• Dramatically increased the school’s philanthropic activity, growing our endowment by 28%, increasing student scholarships by 49%, and increasing alumni participation by 20% • Increased student enrollment across disciplines and demographic categories, more than doubling the size of our graduate student population • Rose to No. 77 on the University of Texas, Dallas Business School Research Ranking

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DEAN’S REPORT | FACULTY NEWS AND RESEARCH

NEW HEIGHTS IN RESEARCH UCR Business Makes an Impressive Leap to No. 77 in UT Dallas Business School Research Ranking The UCR School of Business is ranked 77th in the University of Texas at Dallas Top 100 Business School Research Rankings for the period of 2015 through 2019, a nine-point jump from UCR’s previous spot. The rise in the ranking—which assesses business schools of all sizes—is a testament to faculty productivity at the UCR School of Business, with comparatively fewer faculty than other institutions on the list.

The UT Dallas Naveen Jindal School of Management’s ranking tracks research publication in 24 leading business journals. The UCR School of Business has steadily climbed up the list within the North American Business Schools category, which ranked UCR 98th during the 2012-2016 time period. The UT Dallas evaluation includes most of the journals generally considered the very best in the fields of finance, accounting, operations, marketing, and management.

Accomplished Professor of Accounting Retires Professor of Accounting Woody M. Liao retired in June 2021 after 30 years of service to the UCR School of Business.

Woody M. Liao

Within the school, Liao served as graduate advisor, senior associate dean for the A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management (AGSM), and was the chair and area coordinator for accounting. In addition, he was advisor to the AGSM Accounting Society and the student Financial Management Association Chapter. A widely published author in top research journals, he was also the recipient of many awards and honors from both industry and academia.

UC Riverside School of Business

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DEAN’S REPORT | FACULTY NEWS AND RESEARCH

FACULTY PUBLICATIONS AND HONORS: 2020-2021 Hai Che, associate professor of marketing

“Consumer Search and Purchase: An Empirical Investigation of Retargeting Based on Consumer Online Behaviors” With Zhenling Jiang, Tat Chan, and Youwei Wang Marketing Science, 2021

Long Gao, associate professor of operations and supply chain management “Business Analytics for Intermodal Capacity Management” With Michael F. Gorman, Ting Luo, and Jim (Junmin) Shi Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, 2020

“Dual Channel Distribution: The Case for Cost Information Asymmetry” With Adem Orsdemir and Liang Guo Production and Operations Management, 2021 “Optimal Incentives for Salespeople with Learning Potential” Management Science, forthcoming

Elodie Adida Goodman, associate professor of operations and supply chain management “Outcome-based pricing for new pharmaceuticals via rebates” Management Science, 2021

“Reference Pricing for Healthcare Services” With Hamed Mamani and Shima Nassiri Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, forthcoming 2021

Jerayr “John” Haleblian, Anderson Presidential Chair in Business Administration, associate dean of faculty, department chair, and professor of management

“Impression offsetting as an early warning signal of CEO self-interest in acquisitions” With Cindy Devers, Daniel Gamache, Scott Graffin, Jason Kiley, and Gerry McNamara Academy of Management Journal, 2020

Hyun “Shana” Hong, associate professor of accounting

“Lender Monitoring and the Efficacy of Managerial Risk-Taking Incentives” With Ian Ryou and Anup Srivastava The Accounting Review, 2020

Mingyu (Max) Joo, assistant professor of marketing

“Temporal Distance and Price Responsiveness: Empirical Investigation of the Cruise Industry” With Dinesh K. Gauri and Kenneth C. Wilbur Management Science, 2020

Thomas Kramer, associate dean for the undergraduate program and professor of marketing “Ritualistic Consumption Decreases Loneliness by Increasing Meaning” With Yixia Sun and Xuehua Wang Journal of Marketing Research, 2021

Ye Li, assistant professor of management Poets & Quants 2020 Best 40 Under 40 MBA Professors honoree

Boris Maciejovsky, associate professor of management

“Too much trust in group decisions: Uncovering Hidden Profiles by Groups and Markets” With David V. Budescu Organization Science, 2020

Birendra (Barry) K. Mishra, professor of accounting information systems

American Accounting Association Journal of Information Systems (JIS) best paper award in the accounting information systems section for “Budget Adjustments and Spending Patterns: A Transaction-Cycle View” co-authored and published in JIS

Adem Orsdemir, assistant professor of operations and supply chain management

“Dual Channel Distribution: The Case for Cost Information Asymmetry” With Long Gao and Liang Guo Production and Operations Management, 2021

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Marlo Raveendran, assistant professor of management

Poets & Quants 2020 Best 40 Under 40 MBA Professors honoree “The Role of Interdependence in the Micro-Foundations of Organization Design: Task, goal, and knowledge interdependence” With Ranjay Gulati and Luciana Silvestri Academy of Management Annals, 2020 “Seeds of Change: How current structure shapes the type and timing of reorganizations” Strategic Management Journal, 2020 “Division of Labor Through Self-Selection” With Phanish Puranam and Massimo Warglien Organization Science, forthcoming 2021

Danko Turcic, associate professor of operations and supply chain management

Manufacturing & Service Operations Management journal’s 2020 Meritorious Service Award

Jorge M. Silva-Risso, professor of marketing

“The End of the Express Road for Hybrid Vehicles: Can Governments’ Green Product Incentives Backfire?”

With Chang He, Chris Gu, and O. Cem Ozturk Marketing Science, 2021

Yunzeng Wang, dean of the UCR School of Business “The Effect of List Prices on Channel Performance with Consignment” With Xiang Fang and Jun Ru Production and Operations Management, 2021

Ivy Xiying Zhang, associate professor of accounting

“Discussion of ‘The effect of fair value accounting on the performance evaluation of role of earnings’ ” With Yong Zhang Journal of Accounting and Economics, 2020

DEAN’S REPORT | FACULTY NEWS AND RESEARCH

Understanding Decisions and Incentives in Supply Chain Systems and Health Care Elodie Adida Goodman

Associate Professor Elodie Adida Goodman has earned high marks from her peers for research within a pervasive aspect of business The COVID-19 pandemic is a clear example of how crucial

“Since the health-care reform of 2010, there has been more

supply chain management is and how disruptions can

attention devoted to removing inefficiencies and reducing

affect society, according to Elodie Adida Goodman,

costs without sacrificing the quality of care. Some of this

associate professor of operations and supply chain

can be achieved by changing the way we pay for treatments

management. “Early on, the shortage of medical

and services.”

supplies revealed how vulnerable ‘long’ supply chains are,” she says. “They can span many countries due to

Goodman was recently appointed to the editorial boards

outsourcing practices.

of two top journals in the field: She is an associate editor

“The issues we have faced are evidence that building

Operations Management. She also serves as senior editor

resilient supply chains will be critical for the next crisis

for Production and Operations Management.

the country will face.”

for both Management Science and Manufacturing & Service

While her research and leadership within the field are

Goodman’s current research explores health-care

widely respected by her peers, Goodman finds satisfaction

payment systems, and her most recent co-authored

helping students understand the complexities of analytical

articles include the forthcoming “Reference Pricing for

techniques. “I teach quantitative courses, which business

Healthcare Services” in Manufacturing & Service Operations

students sometimes find among the most challenging in

Management and “Outcome-Based Pricing for New

their program,” she says.

Pharmaceuticals via Rebates” published in Management Science in 2021.

“With the increasing importance of data analysis in the

“I find it fascinating that changing the way payment

intuition and reasoning behind a formula rather than the

incentives are designed can have a real effect on people’s

numbers. In my opinion, quantitative courses are not really

lives, such as improving access to drugs, and physicians

about calculations, they’re more about reasoning.”

or patients making better treatment decisions,” she says.

workplace, I focus on how to think about a problem and the

— By Laurie McLaughlin

UC Riverside School of Business

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DEAN’S REPORT | FACULTY NEWS AND RESEARCH

Should Companies Let Employees Choose Their Tasks?

The tactic can be useful with very skilled employees and independent projects Letting employees select their own tasks is a popular means of increasing work satisfaction.

However, managers should also consider the nature of the task and employees’ specializations before letting them select their own, suggests a study led by UC Riverside.

Traditionally, managers allocate tasks to employees who are expected to produce a defined output. As organizations must increasingly respond to markets and opportunities quickly and decisively, they have begun to experiment with letting employees choose their own tasks. There is to date little hard data, however, to help managers determine the best task-allocation strategy to optimize worker productivity and satisfaction, and the organization’s success.

Marlo Raveendran, an assistant professor of management in UCR’s School of Business, led an international team of researchers who studied when and why self-selection may outperform allocation of work by a manager within an organization. They found that manager-led allocation tends to perform better than self-selection when employees have a broad skill range, tasks are highly interdependent, and

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DEAN’S REPORT | FACULTY NEWS AND RESEARCH coordination requirements are high. Self-selection tends to

“We provide a deeper understanding of the mechanism

perform better than managerial allocation when employees

underlying the relative performance differences

are highly specialized, tasks are fairly independent, and

between self-selection and managerial allocation of

when new workers join a firm or project over time.

employees to tasks that goes well beyond the expected

“We tend to think of the upside of self-selection as providing greater motivation for employees and better information on their own skills,” Raveendran says. “However, we found that even in the absence of motivational and informational considerations, self-selection can outperform

motivational and informational advantages that intuitively characterize self-selection,” Raveendran says.

“The results of our analysis offer a window into the conditions under which each form of intraorganizational division of labor may have relative advantages.”

managerial allocation depending on the employees’ degree of specialization and the nature of work.”

The researchers developed an agent-based model to see whether self-selection may have performance benefits over managerial allocation even in the absence of heightened job satisfaction. The model showed the skill-to-task fit tends to be higher under self-selection than under managerial allocation, but at the cost of over- and understaffing of tasks. In self-selection, employees often pick their tasks without considering other employees’ skills, while managers may give away a task to an employee today for which a better-skilled employee may come along later.

Marlo Raveendran

The model showed the skillto-task fit tends to be higher under self-selection than under managerial allocation, but at the cost of over- and under-staffing of tasks.

The research adds rigor to the question of when to use selfselection as a form of task allocation within organizations.

Managerial allocation has many coordination advantages, but self-selection likely outperforms it under a confluence of specific conditions: When employees are very skilled but at only a narrow range of tasks, tasks are independent, and employee availability is unforeseeable.

The researchers hope these results can be used to inform,

The trade-off between self-selection and managerial allocation rests on a trade-off between interpersonal

if not guide, managerial thinking on when and how to use self-selection as an allocation process within the firm.

coordination failure under self-selection and intertemporal

Raveendran was joined in this research, “Division of labor

coordination failure under managerial allocation. This

through self-selection,” published in Organization Science

trade-off exists in addition to motivational and skill or

by Phanish Puranam of INSEAD in Singapore and Massimo

information advantages that usually benefit self-selection.

Warglien at Ca’Foscari University of Venice in Italy.

— By Holly Ober

UC Riverside School of Business

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DEAN’S REPORT | FACULTY NEWS AND RESEARCH

Lonely? These Odd Rituals Can Help Personal rituals around everyday tasks ease loneliness

If you dunk a tea bag repeatedly into your mug or open a cream-filled cookie to lick the filling, you might find coping with isolation a bit easier than others.

A UC Riverside-led study has found people who adopt

The paper, published in the Journal of Marketing Research,

unique rituals to make everyday tasks more meaningful

addressed the fact that people who experience chronic

might feel less lonely.

loneliness often feel their lives lack meaning. Rituals

“We found that something as simple as preparing tea in a certain way, as long as it’s interpreted as a ritual, can make the experience more meaningful,” says Thomas Kramer, professor of marketing at UCR’s School of Business. “This makes people feel less lonely.”

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create meaning. Most rituals occur in celebratory, social, or religious group settings and draw upon and reinforce shared cultural values. But rituals are also an important part of consumer culture. These rituals do not draw from shared cultural values and might be created by marketers

DEAN’S REPORT | FACULTY NEWS AND RESEARCH or individual consumers. Marketers have long known that

“Many people are trying to find structure right now because

rituals facilitate relationships with consumers and brands and

everything is so chaotic,” Kramer says. “The implications of

between consumers themselves.

our study are that if you feel lonely, find a ritual. It doesn’t

Kramer and co-authors Xuehua Wang, an associate professor of marketing at East China Normal University, and

have to be elaborate. It can help you feel less lonely by providing a sense of meaning and purpose.”

Yixia Sun, an assistant professor of marketing at Zhejiang

The authors note that though participants felt less lonely

University, sought to find out if rituals around everyday

immediately after using the product, they did not follow up

consumer products could also help people feel less lonely

to determine how long this feeling lasted. They also note

by imbuing use of the products with meaning. Their paper

idiosyncratic consumption rituals might not be advisable for

is titled “Ritualistic Consumption Decreases Loneliness by

individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorders.

Increasing Meaning.”

— By Holly Ober

“Nobody in marketing has ever looked at rituals with private meaning,” Kramer says. “A lot has been done on what they do, for example, promoting self-control. But no one has looked at whether or not idiosyncratic, private rituals provide meaning in the context of consumer products.”

After asking participants questions designed to assess their degree of chronic loneliness, the researchers told participants that consumers often adopt rituals around the consumption of everyday products. They asked about rituals the participants practice and asked them either to imagine or actually use the product in either the ritualistic way, such as the familiar “twist-lick-dunk” technique for eating cream-filled cookies, or engaging with the product the way they usually did.

They found that the participants who experienced the most

Thomas Kramer

chronic loneliness also habitually engaged in the most rituals around consumer products. Moreover, participants who completed activities the researchers designed to induce loneliness felt less lonely after completing a real or imagined act of ritualized consumption. They also indicated that they felt their life had more meaning after the action.

The findings show that consumers might engage more strongly with brands that create rituals around purchasing or using products because they find meaning and a sense of community. The authors also suggest that governments can do more to reduce widespread loneliness by promoting

Most rituals occur in celebratory, social, or religious group settings and draw upon and reinforce shared cultural values. But rituals are also an important part of consumer culture.

rituals that do not include particular product options and add meaning to lives devoid of meaning.

UC Riverside School of Business

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DEAN’S REPORT | FACULTY NEWS AND RESEARCH

NEW FACULTY

Two New Accounting Professors See Behavior by the Numbers One study compared the extra effort [marathon] runners exhibit at the finish line to the tendency of companies to report earnings just above zero rather than just below—even when the difference is negligible.

Eric Allen

Studying Marathon Runners Illuminates Earnings Reporting Assistant Professor of Accounting Eric Allen’s research

“I am a runner and an accounting researcher, so writing

interests include the effect of statutory requirements on

about marathon running lets me justify spending way

firm income tax planning and disclosures; efficiency of firms’

too much money on race fees and shoes,” he says. “But

tax planning decisions; and financial statement analysis.

really, the beauty of investigating marathon runners is

“On a very fundamental level,” he says, “I’m curious about why people and organizations do things that don’t seem consistent with what you would expect from theory, or the popular perception of how things work.”

Allen also studies marathon running through an economics lens. One study he co-authored compared the extra effort runners exhibit at the finish line to the tendency of companies to report earnings just above zero rather than just below—even when the difference between a very small loss and a very small profit is negligible.

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that it allows us to study individual decisions at a level of detail that you can’t really get when just looking at more traditional data sets.”

Allen was most recently an assistant professor of accounting at University of Southern California. He earned his doctoral and master’s degrees in business administration from University of California at Berkeley after working professionally as a tax accountant, business manager, and senior auditor. His undergraduate degree in economics and business administration is from the University of Redlands.

DEAN’S REPORT | FACULTY NEWS AND RESEARCH

UCR welcomes two new faculty members who bring a wide range of expertise in accounting, from the behavioral economics of marathon runners to how psychological traits influence fraud

Recently published examinations look at how psychological traits influence the propensity to act opportunistically or commit fraud.

Naman Kiran Desai

Accounting Reveals So Much Assistant Professor of Teaching in Accounting Naman

Having earned the international designation of chartered

Kiran Desai has published widely on his research

accountant (equivalent in the United States to a CPA),

interests, including auditing and corporate governance.

Desai brings professional experience to the classroom.

Topics have included how internal audit design

Previously, his courses explored cost accounting for

influences the perceptions of external auditors; the

business decisions; fraud risk and corporate governance;

determinants of external audit fees; and the impact of

behavioral research in accounting and finance; and

auditor expertise and shareholder dissent on financial

advanced auditing and forensic accounting.

reporting processes. He also recently published examinations of how psychological traits influence the

Desai, already a familiar presence as a School of Business

propensity to act opportunistically or commit fraud.

lecturer, earned his doctorate in accounting at Florida

Desai says he is drawn to the field because accounting

taking faculty roles at University of Central Florida; the

reveals so much about a company—far beyond profits

Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad; and St.

and losses.

Mary’s College, California. He has a master’s degree in

“My training and experience in the field of accounting allow me to see things which an untrained individual might not see,” he says. “As an accounting professor, I constantly

State University, where he served as a lecturer before

accountancy from the University of Alabama and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Gujarat University, Ahmedabad.

— By Darin Estep

strive to make my students see beyond the numbers.”

UC Riverside School of Business

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DEAN’S REPORT | EXECUTIVE FELLOWS

EXECUTIVE FELLOWS

A Network of Distinguished Business Leaders Executive fellows are selected for their leadership, professional experience, and business expertise. The program was founded in 1992 to connect distinguished business leaders with faculty and students at the UCR School of Business. Executive fellows mentor students in their careers, business ventures, and professional challenges.

Tomorrow’s Leaders Understand the Bridge Between Technology and Humanity Executive Fellow Michael L. Zemetra ’93 shares lessons learned during a successful career across innovative industries Michael L. Zemetra ’93

Current UCR School of Business Executive Fellow Michael L. Zemetra ’93 sees parallels in the school’s Executive Fellows program to his own business undergrad experience, when he discovered the difference that a mentor can make. He was somewhat lost about his career direction until he connected with a professor at UCR who encouraged him and gave him confidence. Now a successful executive, Zemetra is returning the favor.

Zemetra is currently the executive vice president, chief financial officer, and treasurer of Veritone Inc., a leading provider of artificial intelligence technology. He joined the Executive Fellows, one of the business school’s signature programs, for the 2020-2021 school year, supporting the school’s strategy of bridging theory and practice by sharing real-world experiences.

In fall 2020, he participated in a virtual meet-and-greet with students to talk about his journey from UCR student to the C-suite. He explained that his path was not linear but one that was crafted through careful networking, determination, and resiliency. The students asked questions, which led to a lively discussion surrounding career and life advice.

“I don’t think that kind of attention happens at other schools,” says Zemetra. “I would not normally consider myself to be this super successful person, but I do want to be a resource and give back, to help the next generation who are on the first journeys in terms of a career pathway.”

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DEAN’S REPORT | EXECUTIVE FELLOWS During the 2021 winter quarter, Zemetra met with students interested in a career in finance and discussed his extensive work with startups and the endless hours he put into taking various companies public. He also took the time to ask students about how they were handling the pandemic and virtual learning, how campus life has changed, and which students were involved in extracurricular activities, such as UCR’s Greek life.

Students also met with Zemetra one-on-one during evening office hours and attended a “Coffee Chat with Mike,” where he discussed working on IPOs and a day in the life of a CFO. Zemetra’s professional career took him to large content and media companies.

Early on in public accounting, he began his career at PwC advising giants in the entertainment business, including The Walt Disney Company, Sony Pictures, Paramount Pictures, and Lucasfilm. Later, he branched into technology startups and digital media. Until recently, he served as CFO at LiveXLive, a global platform for livestream and on-demand content in music, comedy, and pop culture. In 2020, he joined Veritone, which developed the world’s first operating system for artificial intelligence.

For students concerned about entering the pandemic job market, Zemetra reminds them that “with hard work comes opportunities,” and they should embrace the fast-paced fluidity of technology today.

Executive Fellows Scholarship Fund The Executive Fellows Scholarship Fund supports students who aspire to leadership, innovation, and making meaningful contributions to the business world. “I am so grateful to have been chosen for this scholarship,” says Felicia Ansah ’21, pictured, who recently earned an MBA and served as an ambassador in the A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management Ambassador program. “It relieved some of the financial burden so I could focus on my studies and internship at the Grid app site.”

Zemetra met with students interested in a career in finance and discussed his extensive work with startups and the endless hours he put into taking various companies public.

The Executive Fellows Scholarship awardees 2020-2021

Jane Park ’21 Ph.D. management “Tomorrow’s leaders are going to be those who understand the bridge between humanity and technology,” says Zemetra, who also serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council. “As business ambassadors, we have to be almost like psychologists, to tell them it’s going to be OK; there are going to be more opportunities than you can imagine.”

– By Darin Estep

Lu Tang ’20 MPAc accounting, auditing, and assurance

2019-2020 Felicia Ansah ’21 MBA finance

UC Riverside School of Business

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DEAN’S REPORT | PHILANTHROPY

BUSINESS COMMUNITY SUPPORTS BUSINESS EDUCATION

Building the Future for UCR Business Beverly and Scott Bailey’s $1 million pledge to the School of Business will help create and maintain a new complex for professional development and community engagement

The Bailey family includes, from left, Brandon, Alyssa, Beverly, Scott, and Kyler.

Beverly Bailey knows a thing or two

50 Fastest Growing Women-Owned/Led

Entrepreneur of the Year for the

about building things.

Companies.

Inland Empire in 2000, the 2016

As a student at Riverside City College,

Their recent $1 million pledge to UC

she helped her boyfriend, Scott, hang

Riverside helps build a bright future

patio covers on the weekends. When

for the university’s School of Business:

she turned 20, she bought and ran

The endowed gift will provide building-

a small café in Chino, putting her

maintenance funds for the new

entrepreneurial spirit to the test as

business school complex.

she worked some of the longest days of her life. Then, she earned her real estate license, making a living helping

“The designation of this gift is to support the maintenance operations

people build their dream homes.

of the new school [building]. Being in

She married Scott, and for the

into disrepair because maintenance

past 30 years, they’ve expanded

costs were never thought about or

Stronghold Engineering, a company

factored in,” says Beverly. “We envision

they started from their kitchen

a state-of-the art facility that will

table that is now one of the premier

feed the minds of potential hungry

general contracting firms in Southern

entrepreneurs and be a catalyst for

California; it is ranked among the

relevant, local, and international

top 10 minority- and women-owned

business education.”

construction companies in the nation and was recognized by the Women’s Presidents’ Organization as one of the

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construction, I have seen facilities fall

Beverly’s success as president and CEO of Stronghold has garnered her top awards: the Ernst & Young

Enterprising Woman of the Year Award, 2020 American Heart Association Legendary Women of the Heart, 2020 Outstanding Philanthropist of the Year Award, and most recently, the 2021 Construction Leader of the Year Award at the Women in Energy Leadership Summit. Currently serving as both a UCR Foundation trustee and outgoing chair for the School of Business Dean’s Advisory Council, Beverly was also a School of Business executive fellow, and along with Scott, established the Executive Fellows Endowed Scholarship Fund.

“The school is full of gratitude, and we’re honored to be a friend and partner of Beverly Bailey,” says Yunzeng Wang, dean of the UCR School of Business. “Her recent expression of generosity is very exciting and will help build momentum in support of the new state-of-the-art facility.” ‒ By Sarah Nightingale

DEAN’S REPORT | PHILANTHROPY

A Family Tradition, a Community Connection Provident Savings Bank CEO and Chairman Craig Blunden ’72 establishes a foundation that supports the A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management Craig Blunden ’72, Provident Savings Bank CEO and chairman of the board

Craig Blunden grew up in a family that

at the bank, the Provident Charitable

Provident has sponsored the school’s

believed in community involvement.

Foundation, and using that to give to

Inland Empire Economic Forecast

the community in a number of

Conference since its beginning more

ways. One of the gifts was to the

than a dozen years ago. Craig Blunden

A. Gary Anderson Graduate School

currently serves on the Dean’s Advisory

of Management.”

Council and previously served as an

His mother helped launch nonprofits in Riverside, and in 1956, his father started a savings and loan that would grow into Provident Bank. Fourteen

executive fellow.

years later, UC Riverside established the graduate program that would become the A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management. Among its first graduates in 1972: Craig Blunden.

The connection to UCR was just beginning.

In 1985, following the family tradition of community service, Blunden was appointed to the UCR Foundation

Provident Savings Bank has sponsored the business school’s Inland Empire Economic Forecast Conference since its beginning more than a dozen years ago.

the university.

“I really learned a lot in those 14 years that I was on that board,” says Blunden, who is now Provident’s CEO and chairman of the board. “I ended up starting a foundation here

experience. It was a chance for me to sit with the students, hold office hours, answer their questions and really continue my own learning,” he says.

Blunden is proud of UCR’s involvement in the community and how it provides opportunities for students to make their own contributions.

“When I start to think about

Board, where he gained an appreciation for the needs of

“Being a fellow was a wonderful

That gift in 1994 established the Gordon A. Blunden/Provident Savings Bank Endowed Business Scholarship, named for his father to honor his service to the community. Although the elder Blunden passed away in 1996, the

philanthropy, it really evolves as a process as you grow up,” he says. “It just makes you feel great when you see people being successful and able to help others in the community.”

— By Darin Estep

connection to UCR continued to grow.

UC Riverside School of Business

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DEAN’S REPORT | PHILANTHROPY

Leader In Orchid Business Helps Students Bloom The most recent endowed award established by Jamie Fang ’90 supports School of Business transfer students

Jamie Fang ’90, center, established endowed funds to support School of Business students. She is pictured with Judy Su and Jamie’s father, Charley Fang.

Jamie Fang ’90 was still paying for her own business administration education when she started her first endowed fund for School of Business graduate students. As she became a leader in the orchid business, her growing support enabled more students to bloom at UCR. At the time of her first endowment— the Charley Chen-Hui and Hsi-Mei Fang Award Endowed Fund, named for her parents—Fang was not long out of college and still building her businesses.

“I decided we could all afford something, even if we save $100 occasionally from going out to eat,” she says. “I wanted to give back to the school, the foundation of my education that led to my life’s work.”

Fang modestly describes that first endowment as “not a great amount,” which nonetheless led to a personal relationship with school leadership.

That has continued through the years, and Fang has met with every dean of the School of Business since 2005.

Jamie Fang's focus on long-term planning is part of the reason she directs her philanthropy toward student support.

Her most recent gift created the Jamie Chen-Kuei Fang Endowed Award to support undergraduate business majors in the School of Business, particularly for incoming transfer students and those from a Southern California community college.

Although semi-retired, Fang remains active in the floral industry. And she is just as passionate about helping students achieve academic success through decreasing their financial burden.

Her focus on long-term planning is part of the reason she directs her philanthropy toward student support.

“We have to be sure the next generation is educated,” she says.

“These kids are so appreciative. That really hits home with me.”

— By Darin Estep

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DEAN’S REPORT | PHILANTHROPY

Three Business Leaders Establish Scholarships and Endowed Funds for Business Students

High-tech Industry Veteran Looks to the Future

Riverside Entrepreneur Helps Students Understand Business

Investing in Causes that Matter

Having served on the UCR Foundation’s

The co-founder and executive vice

co-founder of Catalina Consulting

board of trustees since 2014, alumna

president of SolarMax Technology Inc.,

Susan Atherton ’77 established the

Ching Liu, supports students through

Susan Atherton Endowed Graduate

the SolarMax Endowed Graduate

Award Fund, and she has a genuine

Fellowship Fund and is a member of

interest in the students whose lives are

the Dean’s Advisory Council,

changed with a business education.

a UCR Foundation trustee,

Investment expert Patricia Watters ’95, Partners, established the Patricia A. Watters and Richard K. Lashbrook Endowed Student Award. She served as an executive fellow at UCR’s School of Business and is deeply committed to the success of students and alumni.

and former executive fellow.

Learn more about these business leaders at business.ucr.edu/whm2021.

A Generous Donor Network Through an increase in giving over the last several years, the UCR School of Business continues to champion community and alumni engagement to strengthen its ability to support students and faculty. We are extraordinarily grateful and thank our network of generous donors.

20%

increase in alumni participation through annual giving, aiding students impacted by COVID-19, and increasing scholarships

49%

increase in student scholarship awards since 2017

DRIVING EXCELLENCE

Donor contributions have propelled innovation in the classroom, securing endowed and current-use funding to support new teaching methods and innovative tools and technologies:

$150,000 $75,000 $200,000

James Merino Innovation Award Fund Dean’s Innovation Fund Hylander Student Investment Fund

To support the UCR School of Business, please visit business.ucr.edu/giving.

UC Riverside School of Business

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DEAN’S REPORT | CENTER FOR ECONOMIC FORECASTING & DEVELOPMENT

CENTER FOR ECONOMIC FORECASTING & DEVELOPMENT

The center is a fertile meeting ground for new product development, original research, and collaboration between industry, government, and the broader community To foster growth and economic education within the region, the Center for Economic Forecasting & Development provides extensive information as well as a menu of services that support businesses in the Inland Empire and beyond. As consultants, the center has built a reputation for producing rigorous quantitative and qualitative economic analysis to help its clients make informed decisions about investment, growth, revenue, and policy.

The center offers consulting expertise in economic and revenue forecasting, economic impact analysis, residential and commercial real estate markets, economic and workforce development strategies, public policy analysis, the creative economy, and regional and industry analysis.

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Inland Empire Regional Intelligence Report

This report examines employment, COVID-19, and business activity trends; residential real estate; and commercial real estate. Most recently issued for summer 2021, this edition examines the Inland Empire’s ongoing and steady economic recovery from the recession brought on by the pandemic.

The analysis finds that the region is outperforming the state along multiple measures, including the labor market where 70% of the jobs lost in the area have been recovered. This compares to a 52% recovery rate in California as a whole.

While some industries and workers continue to struggle, the Inland Empire’s economy is expected to return to trend by the end of 2021. The report also examines areas of the economy that expanded during the pandemic and are continuing to heat up, including certain types of consumer spending and residential real estate.

Inland Empire Business Activity Index

This report tracks performance of the Inland Empire regional economy on a quarterly basis and is adjusted for seasonal variations. The composite indicator is estimated using a wide range of economic data including employment,

DEAN’S REPORT | CENTER FOR ECONOMIC FORECASTING & DEVELOPMENT economic output, income, real estate, and other indicators at the national, state, and metropolitan levels. The most recent index was issued in June 2021, and the analysis finds that business activity in the Inland Empire is likely to hit pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year. In just the first quarter of 2021 (the latest numbers available), business activity in the region increased by an annualized rate of 7%, comparing favorably to the 6.4% growth rate in U.S. GDP over the same period. The analysis estimates that business activity in the region will rise between 6% and 10% through the end of 2021.

Beacon Employment Report | California

This unique, seasonally adjusted, monthly analysis of

Christopher Thornberg, director, Center for Economic Forecasting & Development

California’s employment numbers and trends identifies important changes in employment across industries and regions. For example, the July 2021 report finds that California’s labor market continued to expand at a rapid pace in June (the latest numbers available), with total nonfarm employment growing by 74,500 positions across the state. According to the latest report, over the past five months, California’s economy has added 558,700 jobs, representing the fastest hiring surge since the summer of 2020.

11th Annual Inland Empire Economic Forecast Conference—Riding the Coronavirus Coaster: An Economic Outlook for 2021 The October 13, 2020, Annual Inland Empire Forecast

Conference featured Riverside County Supervisor V. Manual Perez as emcee and Christopher Thornberg, director, Center for Economic Forecasting & Development, who presented U.S. and California forecasts. Taner Osman, research manager for the center, presented an Inland Empire Forecast.

The event’s Gold sponsors were Pacific Premier Bank and Riverside County Business & Community Services. Silver sponsors were Altura Credit Union and Bank of America.

Bronze sponsors were The KPC Group, Provident Bank, City of Ontario, and Schools First Federal Credit Union. Media

The center presented 17 programs for various clients in 2020 and 2021.

Economy White Paper Series

The center publishes white papers on a variety of economic issues. Diverse in topic, these reports are intended to shed light on important economy-related debates and emerging trends. The Economy White Paper Series is produced entirely by the center’s nationally renowned economists and researchers.

sponsors were the Inland Empire Business Journal and KOLA 99.9.

Save the date:

The 12th Annual Inland Empire Economic Forecast Conference will be presented Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021, 3-5 p.m., at Mission Inn in Riverside. For information, visit forecastingconference.ucr.edu.

UC Riverside School of Business

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DEAN’S REPORT | A. GARY ANDERSON GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

EDUCATING PROFESSIONALS The A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management (AGSM) offers a broad portfolio of programs:

MBA

Master of Finance

PROFESSIONAL MBA

Master of Professional Accountancy

MBA and Professional MBA concentrations: Accounting

Marketing

Finance

Operations and supply chain management

Information systems

Master of Science in Business Analytics

2017

2018

171

188

158

320

Management

2019

48.3% 2020

Enrollment in Graduate Programs

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domestic students

51.7%

international students

52%

male students

Diversity in Graduate Programs

48%

female students

DEAN’S REPORT | A. GARY ANDERSON GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

MASTER’S STUDENT EMPLOYMENT

10.5%

89.5%

EMPLOYED INTERNATIONALLY

EMPLOYED IN THE USA

Organizations that have recently hired UCR Business graduate students:

4th Sector Innovations

ESRI

Northrop Grumman

All States Engineering & Surveying

EY

The Pacific Bridge

AmeriSave Mortgage Corporation

Fast Enterprises

Precise Aerospace Manufacturing Inc.

FJDZ International Inc.

PwC

Antec Lighting

F&J Express Inc.

Robinhood

CITIC Securities Co. Ltd.

J.B. Hunt

RSM US LLP

CPU Power Group Inc.

KAF Group LLC

Deloitte

Niagara Bottling

Ventura Foods

CAREER SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS AND ALUMNI The AGSM Career Development Center ensures our graduate

• Live job board and search engine access

students have the resources and tools they need to

• Career readiness assessments

advance their careers. Among the center’s services: • Executive Mentor program • Career development resources and workshops exclusively for graduate students • Quarterly career panels and networking events • One-on-one and group career counseling

Alumni also have access to resources and services: • AGSM and campus Career Center workshops and job fairs • UCR Handshake job search platform • An additional year of career center services for new graduates For more information, email agsmcareercenter@ucr.edu.

UC Riverside School of Business

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DEAN’S REPORT | A. GARY ANDERSON GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

Prestigious STEM Designation for Master’s Degrees The STEM designation from the Department of Homeland Security recognizes the rigor of our business school’s graduate courses and allows international students to work in the U.S. for three years after graduation The UCR School of Business earned STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) designation from the Department of Homeland Security for its MBA and Master of Science in Business Analytics programs, making all of its graduate programs STEM-designated: the Full-time MBA, Professional MBA, Master of Finance, Master of Professional Accountancy, and Master of Science in Business Analytics.

The designation triples the amount of time UCR’s international students will be able to work in the United States after graduation: By enrolling in optional professional training, or OPT, international students may work in the U.S. for one year after graduation. Since 2016, the Department of Homeland Security has allowed international graduates of certain STEM programs to work for an additional two years through a program called STEM OPT, designed to help fill gaps in the labor force.

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“

The graduate programs at UCR School of Business have always focused on utilizing scientific methods and data to support the practices and theories within the fields of business,” says Dean Yunzeng Wang. “Therefore, attaining the STEM certification was not a challenge for the School of Business, but rather a testament to the rigorous curriculum of our programs.”

DEAN’S REPORT | A. GARY ANDERSON GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

Smart Investing: Hylander Student Investment Fund Outperforms Benchmarks The March 2020 stock market sell-

throughout the year. … Instead, the

off was a challenging event for the

decision was made to overweight

Hylander Student Investment Fund

technology, consumer discretionary,

(HSIF), says Sindy Fabrizio, a first-year

health care, and communications

Master of Finance student and student

sectors,” stated the report. The

investor with the fund. “No one had

fund outperformed the market

any idea how long that decline would

portfolio in the technology, consumer

last, so those few weeks were scary

discretionary, and health-care sectors.

and uncertain.

“Given all the market rallies that

“Nonetheless, not every student

occurred during the year, posting

can say they were able to manage a

returns above the benchmark was a challenging thing to

portfolio well through a market

accomplish, but the team

downturn, so 2020 was a very

did this through research

good learning experience

and collaboration,”

for us.”

says Fabrizio, who will

In their 2020 fourth

graduate in fall 2021

quarter report, the

and plans to work for

fund’s student managers stated their target asset allocation was 80% equity

an investment firm as an Sindy Fabrizio ’21

Courtesy Sindy Fabrizio ’21

and 20% fixed income, and they credit

analyst in either the buy or sell side.

the portfolio’s outperformance in

“For instance, lately we have seen

the quarter to this strategy. Their

value stocks outperform growth stocks.

benchmark was 70% of the Russell

We’ve learned to be adaptable by

3000 and 30% of the Bloomberg

looking at value companies but sticking

Barclays Aggregate Bond Index.

to fundamental quality research.”

For the 2020 calendar year, the HSIF

What she finds most interesting is that

portfolio returned 20.84%, while the

“no matter how much investors try to

benchmark returned 15.77%, reported

predict the market’s next moves, in the

the investors.

end, in an ‘efficient market,’ returns are

Anderson Chair in Finance Jean Helwege (center) is the Hylander Financial Group’s faculty advisor.

The Real Deal: Hylander Student Investment Fund Founded in 2014, the Hylander Financial Group (HFG), a UCR student club, initially managed a paper portfolio without actual funds. In 2019, a $200,000 donation from an alumnus established the Hylander Student Investment Fund (HSIF) with real money managed by club members. HFG is open to all students with about 50 members, and 20 students actively manage

unpredictable.

the HSIF portfolio. The group’s

quarter, … the team decided not to

“All we can do as investors is know our

in Finance Jean Helwege, who

invest in the energy sector … due

investments well and analyze in detail

offers a 90-minute “boot camp” for

to the historical underperformance

our risk-reward trade-off.”

students who want to become full

— By Laurie McLaughlin

voting members.

“At the beginning of the [fourth]

faculty advisor is Anderson Chair

UC Riverside School of Business

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DEAN’S REPORT | A. GARY ANDERSON GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

Knowledge Is Empowerment Having completed a successful seven years in the military, Benjamin Gonzalez ’21 entered the private sector and soon realized a Professional MBA degree would expand his knowledge, increase his confidence, and advance his career

Benjamin Gonzalez ’21

Among the life lessons Benjamin Gonzalez says he’s

with a concentration in operations and supply chain

learned is, “Personal and professional growth begin by not

management, and he graduated in March 2021.

knowing something.”

“I have learned more in two-and-a-half years at AGSM

With a bachelor’s degree in biology from Iowa State

than I would have on my own in five to seven years,” says

University, Gonzalez entered the U.S. Army and served in

Gonzalez. “The school helped me grow professionally and

Iraq, Germany, and Afghanistan. He worked his way up in a

as an individual. Prior to my MBA experience, I struggled

variety of medical, transportation, and operations roles and

a lot with personal confidence and a fear of failure—it’s

finished his seven-year career as a medical platoon trainer

humbling to admit that, but I can now confidently say my

at the Army’s National Training Center, where units are

graduate experience helped me grow out of that type

prepared for future deployments.

of thinking.

In 2015, Gonzalez re-entered the private sector with The Gill

“I realized it is OK to not know something because, in the

Corporation, an aerospace manufacturing company—which

end, you can be vulnerable; you can ask; and you can learn.”

produces floor panels for airplanes, including the Boeing 787 and 777—in El Monte, California.

True to the maxim he keeps front and center, he says again,

Even with his considerable military experience, he realized

something. Knowledge is very empowering for me.”

a few years ago that a master’s degree was an important

— By Laurie McLaughlin

next step in expanding his career. “In the Army, I learned

“Personal and professional growth begins by not knowing

Courtesy of Benjamin Gonzalez ’21

a lot about leadership, but the move from the military to manufacturing was difficult for me,” says Gonzalez, who is currently a planning manager with The Gill Corporation. “I wanted to improve my skill sets and increase my knowledge of business. I knew if I did that, it would put me in a better position for success within the operations and productionscheduling field.”

In 2018, he began his Professional MBA studies at the A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management (AGSM)

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Benjamin Gonzalez ’21 earned a Professional MBA after a career with the U.S. Army. He’s pictured, center, with a MEDEVAC helicopter at the Army’s National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California, in 2015.

DEAN’S REPORT | A. GARY ANDERSON GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

The Pandemic’s Lessons for the Supply Chain

Lecturer Suri Gurumurthi’s career and research in operations and supply chain management find real-time relevance in the classroom

Suri Gurumurthi

Due to COVID-19 precautions, Professional MBA student Benjamin Gonzalez ’21 participated remotely in the Project Management course taught by Supply Chain and Operations Management Lecturer Suri Gurumurthi. As the lectures unfolded, Gonzalez realized the course’s immediate applicability. “I have used what I learned in my current position,” he says. “The pandemic has forced companies to re-evaluate how they source their materials and how we prepare for catastrophic events, whether they are regional or international.”

“

Operations and supply chain management education can help train a new generation of leaders who are unafraid to tackle complexity and harness the latest technologies to solve problems.”

Gurumurthi incorporates the pandemic’s influence on global

this year. “The pandemic has taken business leaders to

commerce in his courses, and Gonzalez appreciated the

an important crossroads, and supply chain globalization

chance to learn and observe the implications in real time,

trends of the past 40 years or so will be re-examined with a

along with an admiration for the lecturer’s instructive style.

view to building greater resilience and to meeting business

“He has a lot of career experience with all things related to supply chain management and provides relatable case studies and expert analysis,” says Gonzalez, who recently earned his master’s degree with a concentration in

and environmental sustainability goals,” says Gurumurthi.

In recent years, he has studied supply chains rooted in China and the ways they have adapted to global corporate initiatives and sustainability concerns.

operations and supply chain management and is currently

“In my view, operations and supply chain management

a planning manager at The Gill Corporation. “I am

education can help train a new generation of leaders who

impressed by how much he enjoys teaching his craft to us.”

are unafraid to tackle complexity and harness the latest

Gurumurthi specializes in operations and supply chain

technologies to solve problems,” says Gurumurthi.

management as well as project and strategic management—

“Connecting frameworks from different fields and topics

areas of business that are presently in the spotlight as a

creates a bridge for highly effective leaders who are not

result of pandemic-related issues affecting the general

just generalists but also effective managers of complexity

public, such as the shortage of products on grocery-store

making critical decisions based on cross-functional analytics.”

shelves last year and the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccinations

— By Laurie McLaughlin

UC Riverside School of Business

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DEAN’S REPORT | A. GARY ANDERSON GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

AGSM Ambassadors: A Select Group

The A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management Ambassador program expands the leadership experience and network of a select group of graduate students. The ambassadors serve as representatives of the school as they host official events, participate in public service, and help with recruitment of prospective students.

AGSM Ambassadors Mentor Students Across the Globe Students studying business virtually at UCR due to COVID-19 precautions receive valuable assistance from grad student mentors The students representing the A. Gary Anderson Graduate

Because MBPP students were not on campus as usual due

School of Management’s Ambassador Mentors program

to the pandemic, UCR’s business school created the new

are helping 15 students in China complete their fourth

MBPP Ambassador Mentorship program offering virtual

year at UCR through the Master of Business Preparation

support long distance: Current MBPP students are paired

Program (MBPP).

with current UCR graduate student mentors, many of whom

The program allows undergrad students to earn a

were previous MBPP students themselves.

bachelor’s degree after completing the first three years at

“Having a mentor is extremely important because it

their home universities and fourth year at UCR’s business

provides professional socialization, and it instantly

school. They may then apply to a graduate management

enhances the chances for success,” says mentor Amisha

program at UCR or another university. MBPP prepares these

Sharma, a 2021 MBA student and co-chief ambassador. “The

fourth-year students for their graduate school experience

mentorship program is valuable for both the ambassadors

in the United States.

and the current MBPP students.”

Award-winning AGSM Ambassadors Recognized for Civic Involvement The A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management student ambassadors remained busy during the pandemic: The group’s volunteer service was recognized at a March 2021 ceremony with the Community Partnership Award from the city of Banning, California, for their charitable work supporting the municipality’s food distribution program. Co-chief Ambassadors Amisha Sharma and Danielle Wright accepted the awards on behalf of the ambassadors.

AGSM Ambassadors, from left, Amisha Sharma ’21 MBA and Daniela Andrade ’22 PMBA are joined by Tamra Johnson, associate director of International Relations, and Ambassador Danielle Wright ’21 PMBA.

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DEAN’S REPORT | A. GARY ANDERSON GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

A Mission of Inclusion

Alyssa Stump ’16, ’18 is the mission advancement director at Best Buddies International and adjunct business professor at a Colorado community college During the course of her day as mission advancement director of Best Buddies International, alumna Alyssa Stump oversees all aspects of the efforts to raise funding, establish programming, and open state offices in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Best Buddies serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in a number of ways, including forming friendships, gaining meaningful employment, leadership development, and inclusive living.

“What’s most rewarding about my job is that I bring our mission of inclusion to new markets and see the impact firsthand in the communities I am now a part of,” says Stump, who handles all social media and public relations, plans annual walks and galas, manages volunteer committees and advisory boards, cultivates and manages donor and corporate relationships, and oversees the regional budget.

At UCR, Stump earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing in 2016 and an MBA with an emphasis in strategy in 2018. She began her relationship with Best Buddies at the university as president of the organization’s campus chapter. “This led to my full-time career,” says Stump. When she earned her MBA, Best Buddies promoted Stump to regional director and relocated her to Denver.

She has also found time to pursue another professional goal: teaching business to college students. “I started teaching as a discussion leader during my undergrad years and then as a teaching assistant while studying for my MBA,” she says. Her focus is on ethics and marketing as an adjunct professor at Front Range Community College. “Teaching for me is all about the ‘aha’ moments students have when I can take a familiar concept and advance it to a whole new meaning.”

In the immediate future, Stump is headed back to school to earn a Ph.D. focusing on marketing at Georgia State University, and she says, her current UCR mentors guided her through the application and review process.

She continues to keep in touch with her vast UCR network of faculty members and friends, particularly

Courtesy Alyssa Stump ’16, ’18

fellow students in the University Honors program and professional business fraternity: “These groups of people made me feel like I had a family on campus, and we mutually pushed each other to be our best selves.”

Alyssa Stump ’16, ’18 earned both a bachelor’s degree in marketing and an MBA at UCR’s School of Business.

— By Laurie McLaughlin

UC Riverside School of Business

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DEAN’S REPORT | GLOBAL PROGRAMS

EXPLORING THE WORLD Students experience global marketplaces and diverse cultures through study-abroad programs Under the well-traveled guidance of School of Business faculty, study-abroad programs intensify our students’ understanding of the world and varying cultures, strengthen their résumés, and expand their international business connections.

“These programs exemplify our commitment to providing exceptional educational experiences,” says Yunzeng Wang, dean of the UCR School of Business. “It’s hard to imagine a better way to learn about today’s global marketplace than by experiencing it directly.”

Global Immersion: Seeing Emerging Markets in a New Light The Global Programs at the School of Business provide opportunities for students of all majors—both undergraduate and graduate—to experience the most important and dynamic emerging markets in the world Over the course of 10 years, Sean Jasso, has led UCR students on 25 global immersion trips: 11 trips to Oxford, England; two to India; one to Turkey; seven trips to China; and four to Vietnam. All of them have one thing in common.

“A global mindset changes you,” says Jasso, professor of practice for the School of Business. “Whether it’s in England or Saigon, it changes you. It teaches perspective. It also inspires you to think competitively and differently about your position in the marketplace—which is pretty much a global marketplace.”

Offered exclusively through UCR’s School of Business, the Global Immersion programs provide opportunities for students of all majors, undergraduate and graduate, to gain international experience through a first-hand look at the most important, dynamic, and emerging markets in the world.

In recent years, the trips have focused on entrepreneurial leadership, with emerging-market destinations chosen for their roles in areas such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, and the changing world of work.

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DEAN’S REPORT | GLOBAL PROGRAMS

Loch Ness and London Trips to Scotland—to study advertising and marketing— and London—to study business leadership—are led by faculty with deep knowledge and experience in each region The pandemic has upended travel plans worldwide, but Loch Ness is waiting. And so, Sherryl Berg-Ridenour is still looking forward to taking UCR students to Scotland’s famed lake—not to hunt for the fabled monster, but UCR business students visit Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, England.

to witness how it is advertised. “I want them to see how the folklore is interweaved with the marketing message and to observe the consumer behavior of those coming to Loch Ness,” says Berg-Ridenour, a School

Although one of the regular destinations, Oxford, is not an emerging market, it offers the opportunity for students to be in residence in the world’s oldest English-speaking university— and to visit the startup environment of East London.

One student described his exposure to world-class lectures and site visits by saying, “The Oxford Program opened doors for me.” Jasso agrees, saying every international experience will enhance a student’s profile for employment. “If someone sees Oxford on your résumé, or another international university, that’s going to get you out of the pile of applications,” he says. “For an employer, I think it shows that you take risks and that you put yourself out there.”

of Business lecturer, who plans summer Faculty Led Education Abroad Programs, which will resume as soon as pandemic safety protocols will allow.

A group led by Assistant Professor of Teaching in Management Kyle E. Ingram will travel to London to focus on business leadership and understanding human behavior within organizations. Over three weeks, the London Leadership Experience curriculum includes visits to the offices of Google and Deutsche Bank, and students will present projects to be judged by panels of international business leaders.

“I think one of the greatest initiatives we have within

COVID-19 disrupted global immersion plans last year, and

our undergraduate program, in particular, is creating

there are tentative plans for late-2021 and 2022 trips, which

opportunity and experience,” says Ingram. “In the

may include Oxford, Vietnam, Brazil, China, and a series of

international context, you develop business skills, form

short programs in U.S. centers of commerce: Washington, D.C.;

new perspectives, and generate global connections.”

Silicon Valley; and New York City.

— By Darin Estep

True to the description of global immersion, each trip involves extensive, personal encounters with local cultures, whether through food, service projects, or daily life.

“You’re going to eat food out of your comfort zone, adapt and compete, and gain that perspective beyond the media, beyond stereotype,” Jasso says. “It’s not about luxury, it’s about learning.”

— By Darin Estep

Lecturer Sherryl Berg-Ridenour, far left, with students in Ireland

UC Riverside School of Business

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DEAN’S REPORT | UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS

SHAPING THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS

As the largest undergraduate business program in the prestigious University of California system, students who earn their Bachelor of Science in business administration at UC Riverside are well prepared to become world-class leaders and scholars. The program is ranked among the top 100 in the nation.

Students have the opportunity to focus their studies in one of seven concentrations: accounting, business analytics, finance, information systems, management, marketing, or operations and supply chain management.

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business.ucr.edu

DEAN’S REPORT | UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS

1,531

1,410

1,148

Enrollment in Undergraduate Programs

1,026

BY THE NUMBERS

54.6%

first-generation students

2017

2018

2019

47.6% Pell Grant recipients

37%

underrepresented minorities

2020

OUR GRADUATES AT WORK

$54,790

average starting salary UP 8.5% FROM 2019

Some of the companies employing our undergraduate students:

Bank of America

Goldman Sachs

PwC

Chase

Hewlett-Packard

RSM

City National Bank

Horizon Media

Squar Milner

County of Riverside

JCPenney

Walt Disney Company

DHL Supply Chain

Kaiser Permanente

Wells Fargo

Esri

Kohl’s

Yelp

Foresters Financial

New York Life Insurance

GEICO

PepsiCo

UC Riverside School of Business

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DEAN’S REPORT | UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS

Transfer Student Finds an Academic Home and a Career A weekend visit filled with friendly encounters led Nadeesha Hapuarachchi ’16 to a busy and fruitful two years at UCR’s School of Business, an accounting position with EY, and committed alumni involvement as a mentor Nadeesha Hapuarachchi ’16

Nadeesha Hapuarachchi was looking for a university to

capital funds. So, I need to have a wide world view of

transfer to; she was about to graduate with an associate

market movements, global events, political events, and

degree from West Los Angeles College in Culver City.

regulatory changes.”

“I was working at the time and couldn’t do an official

Hapuarachchi also donates considerable time to UCR

campus tour on a weekday. So, I drove to Riverside one

School of Business events, regularly meets with Accounting

weekend just to see the campus,” says Hapuarachchi. “To

Society and Beta Alpha Psi members, and is active in the

my surprise, I found very friendly students to talk to about

UCR Alumni Association’s 30-Minute Mentor program.

their UCR experience, and they were so nice to a random

“These programs expose students to what’s available in

girl walking around asking questions.

the working world when they graduate, and they are great

“I made my mind up that day to attend UCR.” Hapuarachchi knew she wanted to major in accounting, but she also “was determined to live the college life” at UCR. “I went all out on my extracurricular activities,” she says. She was a School of Business student ambassador, executive vice president of the Accounting Society, and vice president

forums to meet, learn, and be inspired by alumni,” she says.

“I was very fortunate to have undergraduate School of Business staff guide me through the process of recruiting and graduating—the credit goes to them for my success at UCR,” she says, and she is grateful for the network she established so early on.

of Beta Alpha Psi, an honors organization for financial

“That is part of the reason I participate—so many times, I’ve

information students.

seen a student change their perspective on things while

She graduated in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in business

having a conversation with me.”

The pandemic did not slow Hapuarachchi’s involvement:

earned a Master of Accounting at University of Southern

In the past few months, she’s attended virtual Accounting

California in 2017. Hapuarachchi is currently a senior auditor

Society meetings, mentored two UCR business students

in the Financial Services Assurance practice at EY in Los

through a program sponsored by EY, and facilitated

Angeles. “I was recruited from UCR for a summer internship

a workshop at the 2021 Business Student Leadership

at EY, and I then accepted a full-time position,” she says.

Conference.

“The audit profession keeps me interested and plugged

“The students get a lot of value from connecting with

in to the world. The clients I work with are investment

young professionals and recent graduates because

and asset management firms, private equity, and venture

we are closer to what they experience as a student,”

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business.ucr.edu

Courtesy of Nadeesha Hapuarachchi ’16

administration with an emphasis in accounting and then

DEAN’S REPORT | UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS says the former transfer student who made a fateful

“For a first-generation college student like me, there was a

campus visit one weekend. “There is a misconception

lot of new information about the accounting profession and

that alumni giving has to be monetary donations

career paths that I didn’t know. By talking to alumni and

or older alumni giving back. Young alumni can add

colleagues, I came to understand my options.”

significant value to the culture and life at UCR just

— By Laurie McLaughlin

by donating their time to events and mentoring.

Transfer Mentors Ease the Transition for Community College Students For students transferring from a community college to study

professors,” says Diana Garcia ’22, who is studying

business as a UC Riverside undergraduate, navigating their

information systems and is also a lead transfer mentor.

first quarter—with all classes and programs conducted online due to COVID-19—was a challenge. Fortunately,

“Once students transfer into a four-year institution, they have to hit the ground running. The mentor program is a

UCR’s School of Business Transfer Mentors—a team of

way to have a buddy running alongside them, supporting

seven students, pictured below, who also previously transferred to the university—contacted 350 new student colleagues over summer 2020 to assist with the many

them along the way,” says Elizabeth Tisdale, professional academic advisor for UCR undergraduate business programs

tasks involved in embarking on a successful school year.

and the Transfer Mentors advisor.

“Transitioning from a junior college to a four-year university

The program has also equipped the mentors with abilities

can be an overwhelming experience,” says management student Jackie Maslow ’21, a lead transfer mentor. “So, our program emphasizes the importance of designing a balanced course schedule.”

workshops and social events, we’ve been able to sharpen our organizational skills and develop close relationships—not only with our peers, but with the School of Business faculty.”

The program also offers a Business Core Class Survival Guide. “The guide is an in-depth exploration of each core class and includes tips from students and current

Sunaina Agarwal ’21

they’ll use in their careers, says Maslow: “By curating

Follow the Transfer Mentors program on Instagram: @ucr.business.transfermentors

Jesus Barajas Mendoza ’21

Jennifer Leyva ’21

Jackie Maslow ’21

Teresa Gan ’21

Diana Garcia ’22

Juan Montes ’21

UC Riverside School of Business

35

DEAN’S REPORT | UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS

Business student Chris Page’s volunteer leadership experiences augment what he’s learned in the classroom and provide a vision for his career path Chris Page ’21

Just like everyone else, Chris Page ’21 had to pivot during the pandemic. As leadership development director for UCR’s Black Student Union, he created a structure to teach best practices in leadership to fellow members. His preference for in-person activities was thwarted by COVID-19 restrictions, so he turned to social media. “We explored basic leadership principles, including understanding the different types of leadership and the situations in which each of us fits best,” says Page of the digital sessions. “We also looked at how the values of a leader trickle down and contribute to the culture of an organization.”

Page “put together a program for this position and how it should be run in the future,” he says, for current and future students. “The program is also about reaching out to different community organizations or finding things that may be done around the community. Students can then use what they’ve learned to apply leadership theories generally or within political leadership, political activation, and as part of community organizations.”

During his studies toward a Bachelor of Science in business with a management concentration, he says, “I was interested in how the people inside the business get it done. I studied how I can make functions perform better than they were before.”

He put what he calls the “science of leadership and cooperation” into practice with many volunteer and student club activities, which stretched well beyond his involvement in the Black Student Union. He worked in campus housing during his time at UCR, and was the chairman of the design production

Undergraduate Student Ambassadors Expand their Networks and Knowledge Exceptional students represent the business school and interact with the business community The Student Ambassador program within the School of Business selects about 20 undergraduate students each year to represent the school hosting events, mentoring prospective students, and participating in special events, speakers series, workshops, and field trips to develop skills in

committee for Future Business Leaders of America. He was also an ambassador

leadership, public speaking, group

with the undergraduate Student Ambassador program, and as an honors

dynamics, and communication. These

student, Page also found what he calls “one of the best friend groups I could’ve asked for of super-motivated students.”

A new graduate, Page plans to pursue a master’s in organizational psychology.

“I’d like to move into either human resources or general team consulting,” he says. “I think that will be a really cool niche for me.”

— By Laurie McLaughlin

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business.ucr.edu

opportunities allow ambassadors to interact with business leaders in the community, which greatly expands each student ambassadors’ professional network.

Courtesy of Chris Page ’21

Putting an Education in Leadership into Action

DEAN’S REPORT | ACCOLADES Photos by Stan Lim

Commencement 2021 The jubilation of celebrating together was evident at the June 12, 2021, commencement ceremonies for both the classes of 2020 and 2021. The School of Business is proud of our graduates as they earned their degrees during an extraordinary time. Their determination and success is an inspiration to all of us. Congratulations, graduates!

A Decade-long Streak of Wins UCR Business team competes in intense ICBSC competition

The School of Business’s undergraduate team extended their successful run with a third-place finish in the 2021 International Collegiate Business Strategy Competition (ICBSC), the 10th year UCR has entered.

The intensive competition attracts teams who compete over a three-month period. Students make all the strategic decisions: production output, hiring and firing, advertising and marketing, sales force management, financial decisions—even building factories. “This work is intensive, and it’s extracurricular, beyond homework or internships. We don’t participate just to learn,” says Sean Jasso, professor of practice for the School of Business, who serves as advisor to the undergad and graduate teams. “We compete to be ambassadors for the school. We go to

This year’s event was held virtually, and UCR undergrads took third place in the international competition.

deliver excellence.”

— By Darin Estep

UC Riverside School of Business

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Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage

PAID

Permit No. 131 Riverside, CA

900 University Ave. Riverside, CA 92521

SAVE T H E DAT E : 12th Annual

Inland Empire Economic Forecast Conference Join us this fall as leading economists share their insights into the biggest risks, opportunities, and trends facing a post-pandemic U.S., California, and Inland Empire.

 Mission Inn, Riverside, California

 November 10, 2021

SPONSORSHIPS AVAILABLE Sponsorships available for this high-profile event.

Visit forecastingconference.ucr.edu for information.

 3-5 p.m.